Page 80 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

SHOP STATS
Size: 20,000m2
Number of buses each week: 14 Type of repairs: All types
Staff: 21
Bright, clean branding in the welcoming reception area. Main: The entire workshop is beautifully organised.
BEST LARGE NSW
WALES BUS AND COACH REPAIRS
A huge, beautifully presented bus and coach repair facility that totally exceeded our expectations.
WALES TRUCK REPAIRS is no stranger to industry awards with a decent trophy cabinet, including a couple from Paint & Panel for Best Large Shop and Sustainability in the past. When Darren Wales decided to open a standalone facility for buses and coaches we visited the first temporary site, which was good but basic.
The business is now housed in its own massive facility. Formerly a transport company, the current office block used to be a dormitory for the drivers. Today it has a beautiful reception area complete with beautifully produced wall murals. Wales commissioned a photographer to shoot photos of buses at iconic Sydney locations and have used them as decoration and for marketing purposes including a promotional video.
Pushing aside feeling a bit like an ant walking around this facility really does induce wonder. It is incredibly clean, incredibly well organised with some clever thinking around working on such large vehicles. Firstly, the enormous paint mixing room is absolutely spotless – with such huge volumes of paint being mixed you might excuse a bit of mess, but there isn't any. We were assured by general manager Rob Lanham who showed us around that this wasn't just because we were visiting. The paint technicians are so fastidious that they don't use pressure pots because they find the results unsatisfactory but use ordinary spray guns instead. To save walking up and down ladders, the crew have a special lift to paint the huge vehicles that pass through the booths.
12 PAINT&PANEL September / October 2018
The business has contracts with a number of local authorities and the usual suspects for bus and coach repair work and that would be enough for many businesses. Not Wales, who has researched the field thoroughly and found out where new buses are being sourced and offered its services to become part of the supply chain to these manufacturers. This has resulted in contracts where new buses coming in from Asia are delivered to Wales who will paint them and, in some cases, finish the build where necessary.
In terms of green initiatives, the Wales businesses pay to use a carbon offset scheme and are the only business we've encountered in the industry doing this. The massive workshop has been converted to LED lighting and a solar power installation is imminent. Every aspect of the business impresses.
For owner Darren Wales it's all about his crew. “As the industry moves forward we are keeping pace and occasionally take a jump ahead. While the new young ones come up through the ranks with their new ideas, we also rely on the older skilled tradies who have a wealth of knowledge. It is our employees who make the business the success that it is today and we value every single one of them. No exceptions.”
POWELL’S COMMENTS
It makes sense to separate bus and truck repairs, both require different repair methods and equipment. Good staff and a high level of communication is a must to maintain an impressively neat bus repair facility.
www.paintandpanel.com.au
2018 REGIONAL WINNER NEW SOUTH WALES